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THE RAJAH’S DIAMOND
His memory had made a sudden bound. He had seen
Mr. Vandeleur take an article from the breast of his drugged visitor, and that article, he was now persuaded, was a morocco case.
“You have a light?” inquired the stranger.
“Listen,” replied Francis. “I know not who you are, but
I believe you to be worthy of confi dence and helpful; I fi nd
myself in strange waters; I must have counsel and support,
and since you invite me I shall tell you all.”
And he briefl y recounted his experiences since the day
when he was summoned from the bank by his lawyer.
“Yours is indeed a remarkable history,” said the stranger,
after the young man had made an end of his narrative; “and
your position is full of diffi culty and peril. Many would counsel you to seek out your father, and give the diamond to him;
but I have other views. Waiter!” he cried.
The waiter drew near.
“Will you ask the manager to speak with me a moment?”
said he; and Francis observed once more, both in his tone and
manner, the evidence of a habit of command.
The waiter withdrew, and returned in a moment with
manager, who bowed with obsequious respect.
“What,” said he, “can I do to serve you?”
“Have the goodness,” replied the stranger, indicating Francis, “to tell this gentleman my name.”
“You have the honour, sir,” said the functionary, addressing young Scrymgeour, “to occupy the same table with His
Highness Prince Florizel of Bohemia.”
Francis rose with precipitation, and made a grateful reverence to the Prince, who bade him resume his seat.
91
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
“I thank you,” said Florizel, once more addressing the
functionary; “I am sorry to have deranged you for so small
a matter.”
And he dismissed him with a movement of his hand.
“And now,” added the Prince, turning to Francis, “give me
the diamond.”
Without a word the casket was handed over.
“You have done right,” said Florizel, “your sentiments
have properly inspired you, and you will live to be grateful for
the misfortunes of to-night. A man, Mr. Scrymgeour, may fall
into a thousand perplexities, but if his heart be upright and
his intelligence unclouded, he will issue from them all without dishonour. Let your mind be at rest; your affairs are in my
hand; and with the aid of heaven I am strong enough to bring
them to a good end. Follow me, if you please, to my carriage.”
So saying the Prince arose and, having left a piece of gold
for the waiter, conducted the young man from the café and
along the Boulevard to where an unpretentious brougham
and a couple of servants out of livery awaited his arrival.
“This carriage,” said he, “is at your disposal; collect your
baggage as rapidly as you can make it convenient, and my servants will conduct you to a villa in the neighbourhood of Paris where you can wait in some degree of comfort until I have
had time to arrange your situation. You will fi nd there a pleasant garden, a library of good authors, a cook, a cellar, and
some good cigars, which I recommend to your attention.
Jérome,” he added, turning to one of the servants, “you have
heard what I say; I leave Mr. Scrymgeour in your charge; you
will, I know, be careful of my friend.”
92
THE RAJAH’S DIAMOND
Francis uttered some broken phrases of gratitude.
“It will be time enough to thank me,” said the Prince,
“when you are acknowledged by your father and married to
Miss Vandeleur.”
And with that the Prince turned away and strolled leisurely in the direction of Montmartre. He hailed the fi rst passing
cab, gave an address, and a quarter of an hour afterwards, having discharged the driver some distance lower, he was knocking at Mr. Vandeleur’s garden gate.
It was opened with singular precautions by the Dictator in
person.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“You must pardon me this late visit, Mr. Vandeleur,” replied the Prince.
“Your Highness is always welcome,” returned Mr. Vandeleur, stepping back.
The Prince profi ted by the open space, and without waiting
for his host walked right into the house and opened the door of
the salon. Two people were seated there; one was Miss Vandeleur, who bore the marks of weeping about her eyes, and was
still shaken from time to time by a sob; in the other the Prince
recognised the young man who had consulted him on literary
matters about a month before, in a club smoking-room.
“Good evening, Miss Vandeleur,” said Florizel; “you look
fatigued. Mr. Rolles, I believe? I hope you have profi ted by the
study of Gaboriau, Mr. Rolles.”
But the young clergyman’s temper was too much embittered for speech; and he contented himself with bowing stiffly, and continued to gnaw his lip.
93
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
“To what good wind,” said Mr. Vandeleur, following his
guest, “am I to attribute the honour of your Highness’s
presence?”
“I am come on business,” returned the Prince; “on business with you; as soon as that is settled I shall request
Mr. Rolles to accompany me for a walk. Mr. Rolles,” he added
with severity, “let me remind you that I have not yet sat down.”
The clergyman sprang to his feet with an apology; whereupon the Prince took an armchair beside the table, handed
his hat to Mr. Vandeleur, his cane to Mr. Rolles, and, leaving
them standing and thus menially employed upon his service,
spoke as follows: –
“I have come here, as I said, upon business; but, had I come
looking for pleasure, I could not have been more displeased
with my reception nor more dissatisfi ed with my company.
You, sir,” addressing Mr. Rolles, “you have treated your superior in station with discourtesy; you, Vandeleur, receive me
with a smile, but you know right well that your hands are not
yet cleansed from misconduct. I do not desire to be interrupted, sir,” he added imperiously; “I am here to speak, and not to
listen; and I have to ask you to hear me with respect, and to
obey punctiliously. At the earliest possible date your daughter
shall be married at the Embassy to my friend, Francis Scrymgeour, your brother’s acknowledged son. You will oblige me
by offering not less than ten thousand pounds dowry. For
yourself, I will indicate to you in writing a mission of some importance in Siam which I destine to your care. And now, sir,
you will answer me in two words whether or not you agree to
these conditions.”
94
THE RAJAH’S DIAMOND
“Your Highness will pardon me,” said Mr. Vandeleur, “and
permit me, with all respect, to submit to him two queries?”
“The permission is granted,” replied the Prince.
“Your Highness,” resumed the Dictator, “has called
Mr. Scrymgeour his friend. Believe me, had I known he was
thus honoured, I should have treated him with proportional
respect.”
“You interrogate adroitly,” said the Prince; “but it will not
serve your turn. You have my commands; if I had never seen
that gentleman before to-night, it would not render them less
absolute.”
“Your Highness interprets my meaning with his usual subtlety,” returned Vandeleur. “Once more: I have, unfortunately,
put the police upon the track of Mr. Scrymgeour on a charge of
theft; am I to withdraw or to uphold the accusation?”
“You will please yourself,” replied Florizel. “The question
is one between your conscience and the laws of this land. Give
me my hat; and you, Mr. Rolles, give me my cane and follow
me. Miss Vandeleur, I wish you good evening. I judge,” he added to Vandeleur, “that your silence means unqualifi ed assent.”
“If I can do no better,” replied the old man, “I shall submit;
but I warn you openly it shall not be without a struggle.”
“You are old,” said the Prince; “but years are disgraceful to
the wicked. Your age is more unwise than the youth of others.
Do not p rovoke me, or you may fi nd me harder than you
dream. This is the fi rst time that I have fallen across your path
in anger; take care that it be the last.”
With these words, motioning the clergyman to follow, Florizel left the apartment and directed his steps towards the
95
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
garden gate; and the Dictator, following with a candle, gave
them light, and once more undid the elaborate fastenings
with which he sought to protect himself from intrusion.
“Your daughter is no longer present,” said the Prince,
turning on the threshold. “Let me tell you that I understand
your threats; and you have only to lift your hand to bring
upon yourself sudden and irremediable ruin.”
The Dictator made no reply; but as the Prince turned his
back upon him in the lamplight he made a gesture full of
menace and insane fury; and the next moment, slipping
round a corner, he was running at full speed for the nearest
cab-stand.
(Here, says my Arabian, the thread of events is fi nally divert-
ed from THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN BLINDS. One more
adventure, he adds, and we have done with THE RAJAH’S
DIAMOND. That last link in the chain is known among the inhabitants of Bagdad by the name of THE ADVENTURE
OF PRINCE FLORIZEL AND A DETECTIVE.)
THE ADVENTURE OF PRINCE
FLORIZEL AND A DETECTIVE
PRINCE FLORIZEL walked with Mr. Rolles to the door of
a small hotel where the latter resided. They spoke much together, and the clergyman was more than once affected to tears
by the mingled severity and tenderness of Florizel’s reproaches.
“I have made ruin of my life,” he said at last. “Help me; tell
me what I am to do; I have, alas! neither the virtues of a priest
nor the dexterity of a rogue.”
“Now that you are humbled,” said the Prince, “I command
no longer; the repentant have to do with God and not with
princes. But if you will let me advise you, go to Australia as
a colonist, seek menial labour in the open air, and try to forget
that you have ever been a clergyman, or that you ever set eyes
on that accursed stone.”
“Accurst indeed!” replied Mr. Rolles. “Where is it now?
What further hurt is it not working for mankind?”
“It will do no more evil,” returned the Prince. “It is here in
my pocket. And this,” he added kindly, “will show that I place
some faith in your penitence, young as it is.”
“Suffer me to touch your hand,” pleaded Mr. Rolles.
“No,” replied Prince Florizel, “not yet.”
97
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
The tone in which he uttered these last words was eloquent in the ears of the young clergyman; and for some minutes after the Prince had turned away he stood on the threshold following with his eyes the retreating fi gure and invoking
the blessing of heaven upon a man so excellent in counsel.
For several hours the Prince walked alone in unfrequented streets. His mind was full of concern; what to do
with the diamond, whether to return it to its owner, whom
he judged unworthy of this rare possession, or to take some
sweeping and courageous measure and put it out of the
reach of all mankind at once and for ever, was a problem too
grave to be decided in a moment. The manner in which it
had come into his hands appeared manifestly providential;
and as he took out the jewel and looked at it under the street
lamps, its size and surprising brilliancy inclined him more
and more to think of it as of an unmixed and dangerous evil
for the world.
“God help me!” he thought; “if I look at it much oftener,
I shall begin to grow covetous myself.”
At last, though still uncertain in his mind, he turned his
steps towards the small but elegant mansion on the river-side
which had belonged for centuries to his royal family. The
arms of Bohemia are deeply graved over the door and upon
the tall chimneys; passengers have a look into a green court
set with the most costly fl owers, and a stork, the only one in
Paris, perches on the gable all day long and keeps a crowd before the house. Grave servants are seen passing to and fro
within; and from time to time the great gate is thrown open
and a carriage rolls below the arch. For many reasons this resi-
98
THE RAJAH’S DIAMOND
dence was especially dear to the heart of Prince Florizel; he
never drew near to it without enjoying that sentiment of
home-coming so rare in the lives of the great; and on the present evening he beheld its tall roof and mildly illuminated
windows with unfeigned relief and satisfaction.
As he was approaching the postern door by which he
always entered when alone, a man stepped forth from
the shadow and presented himself with an obeisance in the
Prince’s path.
“I have the honour of addressing Prince Florizel of Bohemia?” said he.
“Such is my title,” replied the Prince. “What do you want
with me?”
“I am,” said the man, “a detective, and I have to present
your Highness with this billet from the Prefect of Police.”
The Prince took the letter and glanced it through by the
light of the street lamp. It was highly apologetic, but requested
him to follow the bearer to the Prefecture without delay.
“In short,” said Florizel, “I am arrested.”
“Your Highness,” replied the offi cer, “nothing, I am certain, could be further from the intention of the Prefect. You
will observe that he has not granted a warrant. It is mere formality, or call it, if you prefer, an obligation that your Highness lays on the authorities.”
“At the same time,” asked the Prince, “if I were to refuse to
follow you?”
“I will not conceal from your Highness that a considerable
discretion has been granted me,” replied the detective with
a bow.
99
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
“Upon my word,” cried Florizel, “your effrontery astounds
me! Yourself, as an agent, I must pardon; but your superiors
shall dearly smart for their misconduct. What, have you any
idea, is the cause of this impolitic and unconstitutional act?
You will observe that I have as yet neither refused nor consented, and much may depend on your prompt and ingenuous answer. Let me remind you, offi cer, that this is an affair of
some gravity.”
“Your Highness,” said the detective humbly, “General
Vandeleur and his brother have had the incredible presumption to accuse you of theft. The famous diamond, they declare, is in your hands. A word from you in denial will most
amply satisfy the Prefect; nay, I go farther: if your Highness
would so far honour a subaltern as to declare his ignorance
of the matter even to myself, I should ask permission to retire upon the spot.”
Florizel, up to the last moment, had regarded his adventure in the light of a trifl e, only serious upon international
considerations. At the name of Vandeleur the horrible
truth broke upon him in a moment; he was not only arrested, but he was guilty. This was not only an annoying incident – it was a peril to his honour. What was he to say?
What was he to do? The Rajah’s Diamond was indeed an
accursed stone; and it seemed as if he were to be the last victim to its infl uence.
One thing was certain. He could not give the required assurance to the detective. He must gain time.
His hesitation had not lasted a second.
“Be it so,” said he, “let us walk together to the Prefecture.”
100
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